Art/Auctions: Contemporary Art evening auction May 14, 2013 at Sotheby's New York

Contemporary Art

Sotheby's New York

7 P.M., May 14, 2013

Sale 8991

Barnet Newman

Lot 17, "Onement VI," by Barnett Newman, oil on canvas, 102 by 120 inches, 1953

By Carter B. Horsley

The catalogue for this evening auction of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's New York is 500 pages long and very heavy.

The entry for the catalogue cover illustration, Lot 17, "Onement VI," by Barnett Newman, is 14 pages long and the cover illustration shows only a detail of the work with the artist, wearing a bowtie with his eyeglasses hanging on a ribbon around his neck, standing next to it proudly Artists don't usually appear in photographs on the cover of evening auction catalogues.

Newman is not the evening's only star as Jeff Koons has five works in the auction and other highlights include stellar works by Mark Bradford and Cecily Brown and strong examples by Clyfford Still, Francis Bacon, Richard Diebenkorn, George Condo and Mark Rothko.

The Newman is an oil on canvas that measures 102 by 120 inches and was painted in 1953. It was once in the collection of Richard Weissman.

The catalogue provides the following commentary about the painting:

"Onement VI by Barnett Newman overwhelms and seduces the viewer with the totality of its sensual, cascading washes of vibrant blue coexisting with Newman's vertical 'Sign' of the human presence, his iconic and revolutionary 'zip.'"

It has an estimate of $30,000,000 to $40,000,000. It sold for $43,845,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. It was a record for the artist at auction.

Of the 64 offered lots, 53, or 82.8 percent, sold for $293,587,000. The pre-sale estimate for $283,950,000 to $382,900,000.

Lot 20, "Domplatz, Mailand (Cathedral Square, Milan)," by Gerhard Richter, oil on canvas, 108 by 114 inches, 1968

Lot 20 is an enormous oil on canvas by Gerhard Riuchter (b. 1932) (see The City Review article on Richter) that shows his blurred, grisaille rendering of half of a photograph of the famous square in Milan with the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on the left and the Duomo on the right. It measures 108 by 114 inches and was painted in 1968. For about 30 years, it was owned by Siemens-Elettra in Milan and it was consigned by the Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The catalogue states that his is "a simply breathtaking triumph of Gerhard Richter's 1960s photo-painting" and "was at the time of its execution the largest figurative painting he had created and stands today as the epitoje of this period of career." The catalogue entry also quotes Robert Storr very accurate description of the work that "brushed in generally thin, gently seismic vertical and horizontal hatchings, the image wobbles optically, and the perspective shifts and torques as it it were emanating from a giant black-and-white television set with bad reception."

It has an estimate of $30,000,000 to $40,000,000. It sold for $37,125,000, a record for the artist at auction and a record for a living artist and was more than ten times the price the work achieved at Sotheby's in London in 1998.

Lot 25, "PH-21," by Clyfford Still, oil on canvas, 77 by 68 3/4 inches, 1962

Lot 25 is a strong oil on canvas by Clyfford Still (1904-1980) that measures 77 by 68 3/4 inches and was painted in 1962. Its catalogue entry runs 16 pages, a reflection, perhaps that the artist used more colors than Barnett Newman.

The Clyfford Still Museum opened last year in Denver.

The lot has an estimate of $16,000,000 to $20,000. It sold for $20,885,000.

Lot 23, Study for Portrait of P.L.," by Francis Bacon, oil on canvas, 78 by 57 inches, 1962

Lot 23 is a large oil on canvas by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) that is entitled "Study for Portrait of P.L." It measures 78 by 57 inches and was painted in 1962.

It has an estimate of $30,000,000 to $40,000,000. It was passed at $27,000,000.

Detail of Lot 23

The catalogue provides the following commentary about this work:

"Study for a Portrait of P.L. marks a critical transition in Francis Bacon's historic oeuvre. It is simultaneously an astonishingly intimate portrait of the then most important person in the artist's life, Peter Lacy, and a masterpiece of physiognomic, psychological and emotional analysis. The....smears and blows of coagulated paint narrate the extradordinary personal story of love, obsession, chaos and disaster that had existed for much of the previous decade between Bacon and Lacy."

Lot 37, "Lobster," by Jeff Koons, polychromed aluminum and coated steel chain, 97 by 18 7/8 by 37 inches, 2003, this is number three of an edition of three and one artist's proof

Lot 37, "Lobster," by Jeff Koons (b. 1955), is polychromed aluminum and coated steel chain and measures 97 by 18 7/8 by 37 inches. It was created in 2003 and is number three of an edition of three and one artist's proof. It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $6,325,000.

Lot 36, "New Hoover Celebrity IV, New Hoover Convertible, New Shelton 5 Gallon Wet/Dry, New Shelton 10 Gallon Wet/Dry Double-decker," by Jeff Koons, four vacuum cleaners, fluorescent lights, acrylic, 99 by 53 1/4 by 28 inches, 1981-6

Lot 36 are four vacuum cleaners arranged in acrylic above fluorescent lights by Jeff Koons. The work is entitled, "New Hoover Celebrity IV, New Hoover Convertible, New Shelton 5 Gallon Wet/Dry, New Shelton 10 Gallon Wet/Dry Double-decker," and it measures 99 by 53 1/4 by 28 inches. It was conceived and put together 1981-6. It has an estimate of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. It was passed at $8,750,000.

Lot 50, "Balloon Monkey Wall Relief," by Jeff Koons, silkscreen on stainless steel with polychromed edges, 103 5/8 by 119 7/8 by 1 1/4 inches, 2011-3

Lot 50 is a Balloon Monkey Wall Relief by Jeff Koons that measures 103 5/8 by 119 7/8 by 1 1/4 inches. It is silkscreen on stainless steel with polychromed edges and was created in 2011-3. It has been donated by the artist to the Artists for the Whitney of the Future. It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $785,000.

Alex Rotter, the head of the Contemporary Department in New York said that "works to benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art's new building" totalled $11,806,000 in the auction, exceeding the high estimate of $6.6 million.

Lot 38, "Wall Relief with Bird," by Jeff Koons, polychromed wood, 72 by 50 by 27 inches, 1991, number one from an edition of three and an artist's proof.

Lot 38 is a large floral display with a humming bird in polychromed wood by Jeff Koons. The work measures 72 by 50 by 27 inches and was made in 1991. It is number one of an edition of three and one artist's proof. It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It was passed at $5,000,000.

Lot 9, "The New Jeff Koons," by Jeff Koons, duratran, fluorescent light box, 40 5/8 by 30 5/8 by 8 inches, 1980

Lot 9 is a lightbox enlargement of a photograph by Jeff Koons (b. 1955) when he was four years old. It measures 40 5/8 by 30 5/8 by 8 inches and was created in 1980. In the catalogue entry, the artist explains that this was his "kindergarden photograph," adding that "This was at a time when I really felt,or could recognizse that I felt like an artist for the first time, and that art had come in under my feet and was just taking me away, and I was following it. I always like to think that the picture showed my greatest amount of integrity." The work is unique. It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $9,405,000.

Clearly, the Koons market is full of surprises.

Lot 22, "Untitled," by Mark Rothko, oil on paper laid down on board, 48 1/2 by 40 1/2 inches, 1969

Lot 22 is an untitled oil on paper laid down on board by Mark Rothko (1903-1970). It measures 48 1/2 by 40 1/2 inches and was executed in 1969.

The catalogue provides the following commentary:

"The present work emanates an endemic luminosity through the paper's capacity both to absorb and to reflect, and its composition is infused with a certain energized tranquility. Here the bar of rich dark hues simultaneously conjures both a central presence and a void-like absence, pushing out into the expanse of blue around it at the same time as apparently drawing the color into its abyss. This horizontal axis provides both a point of focus and demarcates a perennial balance-counterbalance relationship between the areas above and below."

It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It was passed at $5,250,000.

Lot 16, "Ocean Park No. 46," by Richard Diebenkorn, oil on canvas, 81 inches square, 1971

Lot 16 is a huge oil on canvas by Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) (see The City Review article on Diebenkorn) that is entitled "Ocean Park No. 46." Ocean Park is a section of Santa Monica in California and the artist began this famous series in 1967 and continued it for 20 years. This work, which is 81 inches square, was executed in 1971.

"With the Ocean Park series," the catalogue noted, "Diebenkorn sought to occupy the space between figuration and abstraction with lyrical ease....Like the planes and facets of color laid thinly and delicately, one on top of the other, colored lines of paint are drawn and redawrn, nearly covered and then retraced. Washes of pinks, peaches, lavenders and yellows are embraced by bold stripes of blue, red, green and yellow, banding and marking off geometric fields. Diebenkorn shifted them as he constructed the composition, leaving pentimenti as trace records of old ideas and hints of what might have been; and yet the final solution, the topmost layer, lays claim to a restful seemingly inevitable solution. Diebenkorn took pains to show this painting as a process of altenative decisiveness and recanting all advanced through the tactile materiality of paint on canvas."

That is a fine description of most of the works in the series, but this example is just too large and lacks the artist's normal poetry and finesse.

It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $11,085,000.

Lot 27, "The Blue Unconscious," by Jackson Pollock, oil on canvas, 84 by 56 inches, 1946

Lot 27, "The Blue Unconscious," is an oil on canvas by Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) (see The City Review article on Pollock) that measures 84 by 56 inches and was painted in 1946.

The catalogue entry describes it was an immediate precursor of the final breakthrough of his epochal "drip" technique in 1947. It is the largest of the seven paintings in the artis's "Sounds in the grass" series of 1946 that reflect his response to the landscape of his new home in The Springs on Long Island. "The Blue Unconscious embodies Pollock's searh for an organic integration of both imagery with abstraction as well as emotive imulse with technique," the entry continued.

The lot has an estimate of $20,000,000 to $30,000,000. It sold for $20,885,000.

Lot 33, "Untitled (Julius Caesar on Gold),"by Jean-Michel Basquiat, gold paint, arili and oilstrick on canvas, 50 inches square, 1981

Lot 33 is a strong work by Jean-Michael Basquiat 91960-1988) entitled "Untitled (Julius Caesar on Gold)." It is gold paint, acrylic and oilstick on canvas and meausres 50 inches square. It wa painted in 1981. It has an estimate of $7,000,000 to $9,000,000. It sold for $6,325,000.

Lot 5, "Purple and Yellow Abstraction," by George Condo, acrylic, charcoal and pastel on canvas, 58 by 66 inches, 2012

Several works in the auction has been donated for "Artists For The Whitney of the Future." One is Lot 5, Purple and Yellow Abstraction," by George Condo (b. 1957). An acrylic, charcoal and pastel on canvas, it measures 58 by 66 inches and was painted last year. It was donated by the artist and the Skarstedt Gallery and is one of the artist's best works.

It has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $1,055,000.

Lot 62, "Merry Widow," by Cecily Brown, oil on canvas, 76 by 98 inches, 1998

Lot 62, "Merry Widow," is a very large and dramatic and intriguing oil on canvas by Cecily Brown (b. 1969). It measures 76 by 98 inches and was created in 1998.

Detail of 62

It is reminiscent of the work of Hieronymous Bosch and Francis Bacon, scrambled together. It has an estimate of $700,000 to $1,000,000. It sold for $965,000.

Lot 63, "Potable Water," by Mark Bradford, billboard paper, photomechanical reproductions, acrylic gel medium and additional mixed media on paper, 130 by 196 inches, 2005

Lot 63 is a very striking and very large work by Mark Bradford (b. 1961) entitled "Potable Water." It is billboard paper, photomechanical reproduction, acrylic gel medium and additional mixed media on paper.

Detail of Lot 63

It is 130 by196 inches and was created in 2005. It has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $701,000.

Lot 39, "Stadium," by Maurizio Cattelan, wood, acrylic, steel and plastic, 47 1/4 by 276 by 27 1/2 inches, 1991

Lot 39 is a multi-player gaming board that is entitled "Stadium" and was created by Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960) in 1991. It is made of wood, acrylic, steel and plasic and measures 47 1/4 by 276 by 27 1/2 inches. It was the artist's first sculpture.

Another view of Lot 39

It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $2,629,000.

Lot 30, "Great American Nude #44,"by Tom Wesselmann, acrylic and paper collage on board with radiator, telephone, coat and door, 81 1/8 by 106 1/4 by 12 1/2 inches, 1963

Lot 30 is an amusing work by Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) entitled "Great American Nude #44." It consists of acrylic and paper collage on board with radiator, telephone, coat and door. It measures 81 1/8 by 106 1/4 by 12 1/2 inches . It was created in 1963. It was once in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Scull of New York and has been exhibited and published widely.

It has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $4,085,000.

Lot 44, "Pink Smash," by Adolph Gottlieb, oil on canvas, 108 by 90 inches, 1959

Lot 44 is a major and large oil on canvas by Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974). Entitled "Pink Smash," it measures 108 by 90 inches and was painted in 1959.

It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. It sold for $3,301,000.

Lot 12, "Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre, SE 168," by Yves Klein, 44 1/2 inches high, 1959

Lot 12, "Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre, SE 168," is a 44 1/2 inche high circular sponge with two holes painted in deep blue on a narrow wire stem, also painted blue, by Yves Klein (1928-1962). It was once in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine of Meriden, Connecticut andisproperty from the collection of Sidney Janis. It has an "estimate on request." It sold for $22,005,000, a record for a sculpture by the artist.

Lot 49, "ET's Long Neck, Two Brains, Penis and Scrotum," by Mike Kelly, found stuffed animals, 129 7/8 by 10 1/8 by 9 inches, 1989

Lot 49 is a vertical assemblage of stuffed animals by Mike Kelly (1954-2012). Entitled "ET's Long Neck, Two Brains, Penis and Scrotum," it is 129 7/9 inches high and was created in 1989. It has an estimate of $450,000 to $650,000. It sold for $485,000.

Lot 1, "Untitled," by Cy Twombly, oil, wax crayon and chalk on paper, 27 1/2 by 39 1/4 inches, 1971

Lot 1 is an excellent oil, wax crayon and chalk on paper by Cy Twombly (1928-2011) that was created in 1971 and measures 27 1/2 by 39 1/4 inches and is a gift of the Cy Twombly Foundation to Artists for the Future of the Whitney. it hs a modest estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $1,385,000.

Lot 45, "Airborne," by Morris Louis, magna on canvas, 92 1/2 inches square, 1959

Lot 45 is a lovely work by Morris Louis (1912-1962) entitled "Airborne." A magna on canvas, it is 92 1/2 inches square and was painted in 1959. It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $1,685,000.

Lot 31, "Baltimore Oriole Securing Freshwater Fish," by Ed Ruscha,, oil on canvas, 59 by 55 inches, 1965

Lot 31, "Baltimore Oriole Securing Freshwater Fish," is an oil on canvas by Ed Ruscha (b. 1937). It measures 59 by 55 inches and was painted in 1965, The whimsical picture has an ambitious estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $4,757,000.

Lot 35, "Cagney,"by Andy Warhol, silkscreen print on paper, 29 7/8 by 39 7/8 inches, 1962

Lot 35 is a silkscreen print on paper of James Cagney by Andy Warhol (1928-1987). It measures 29 7/8 by 39 7/8 inches and was created in 1962. It is property of the Museum of Modern Art, which has another copy. There are four other copies. Another version of "Cagney," from 1964, with an estimate of $4,500,000 to $6,500,00, sold for $6,678,500 last fall at Sotheby's. The lot has an estimate of $5,500,000 to $7,500,000. It sold for $4,925,000.